The Ghana Revenue Authority has said it will soon start implementing proposals to review tax exemptions granted to some companies operating in the country.The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in their staff report after concluding the first round of negotiations with government last week, reiterated their call for these tax exemptions to be reviewed.
However, there are concerns that the country could be affected badly if it goes ahead with the proposal.
But Director General of the GRA George Blankson said the benefits of implementing the tax far outweighs the concerns of revenue loss.
He said the only way revenue can improve is to limit the scope of exemptions “we have no choice but to go into the direction of limiting the scope of exemptions if we want revenue collection”.
This he says will strengthen the tax system and raise the kind of revenue that is required for improving the economy to attract more investors.
According to Mr Blankson, an expanded tax base will make it possible to bring down the tax rate and enable the country to raise the same level of revenue. “If in the long term we aim at bringing down the tax rate, then we should be able to limit the scope of exemptions and expand the scope of tax”
